Rankings

Pound For Pound Rankings

"Mighty Mouse" might actually be the greatest fighter of all-time. He now holds the UFC record with 11 consecutive defenses of his title, and he accomplished the feat with a "Submission of the Year" candidate.

After an incredible win over Daniel Cormier at UFC 214, it was revealed that Jones failed a drug test in association with the event. "Bones" and his team insist he is innocent, and an investigation is ongoing.

Cormier is undefeated against fighters not named Jon Jones. His emotions following his latest loss – now recorded as a no contest – were painful to watch, but Cormier remains one of the best fighters in the world.

St-Pierre's magnificent UFC 217 return proved he is one of the sport's all-time greats – if not the best ever. His next move could be a middleweight unification bout with Robert Whittaker, but nothing seems set in stone.

With a win over a former champion, Dustin Poirier is on the rise in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie rankings.

Poirier defeated former titleholder Anthony Pettis in UFC Fight Night 120’s headliner, which moved him from No. 13 to No. 11 at lightweight. Pettis, meanwhile, falls from No. 11 to No. 12.

As for upcoming events, Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 121 headliner offers rankings honorable mention Marcin Tybura a chance to jump in the top 15 in the heavyweight division when he takes on former titleholder and No. 3-ranked Fabricio Werdum.

Ranking Criteria

The rankings take into account a fighter's wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.

Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they've been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.

Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they're not inactive for more than 24 months.

To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter's primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, non-titleholders can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won't be ranked in a new weight class until they've had their first fight at that weight.